* nil 5^ iti*ltr»rr,t4>rc_^^,tfr^^ f ROZLN VM \ m^ FROZEN ASIA % %\Ml of El^o^fvn Sibcu:i. TOGETHER WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE NATIVE TRIBES INHABITING THAT REGION. BY ^ CHARLES H\EPEN, F.R.G.S., y4ut/!or of "yiustrj/us Heroes,"" " T/ie Fifth Continent,"" " China, Historical and Descriptizie,''" &c., &c. PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE COMMITTEE OF GENERAL LITERATURE AND EDUCATION, APPOINTED BY THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. LONDON. SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE ; NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, CHARING CROSS ; 4, ROYAL exchange; 48, PICCADILLY. New York: Pott, Young & Co. PREFACE. In the compilation of the following pages, I have been guided rather by a desire to awaken an interest in the reader regarding Frozen Asia, than by any hope of producing a volume that could in any way pretend to deal commensurately with so vast a subject. Limited in space, I have endeavoured to select such matters as I thought would prove of general interest, but I deeply regret the inexorable necessity that has precluded my entering at length into many interesting subjects, now left wholly untouched, or pencilled in the merest outline. I have to tender my hearty thanks to my friend Mr. William W. Waddington, of Brazenose College, for the great assistance he has rendered me throughout my' task. To his pen I am indebted for the geological sketch of Siberia, and for the Samoeide folk lore stories, as well as for many valuable hints and suggestions throughout the whole of the work. To Professor Owen I must express my gratitude for the kindness with which he met my inquiries concerning the mammoth, and I am much indebted to IMr. John Carrick Moore for infor- mation on the same subject. To Messrs. Bates and Rye, IV PREFACE. of the Royal Geographical Society, are also due my best thanks for the facilities they so kindly afibrded me in writing the section on " Modern Exploration." Lastly, I must acknowledge my debt to the Rev. Edmund McClure, who first brought the Samoeide stories under my notice. I may mention that the geographical nomenclature followed in this volume is that adopted by Mr. Stanford ; but in all quotations I have rigidly respected the text of the several authors. C. H. EDEN. London, Jixn, \oth, 1879. FROZEN ASIA. CHAPTER I. GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES. PROPOSE, in the following pages, giving a brief account of that vast expanse of country, which, comprising the whole of Northern Asia, is known to us under the name of Siberia. After sketching its geo- graphical and geological features, its flora, fauna, and such other matters relating to its natural history as I judge may prove of interest to the general reader, I shall touch upon the varieties of race to be found amongst its inhabitants, their religions, manners, customs, and amusements, and I shall insert several of the fanciful stories which may serve as specimens of the folk lore existing amongst the heathen population of the desolate tundras — wild legends replete with improbability, but highly interesting as exemplifying the belief in magical agencies still rife amongst these people. 6 FROZEN ASIA. I shall next notice the mode in which Russia — then little advanced beyond a state of semi-barbarism — obtained a footing in this land, and the steps taken by that power to secure her new dominion, and consolidate her jjower therein; a page of history that in romantic interest may vie with the exploits of Cortes in Mexico, or of Pizarro in Peru, although happily unstained by the cruelties that sullied the achievements of the con- questadorcs. Blood was shed freely by the Muscovites — few territorial acquisitions are made without doing so — but I find no record of unnecessary severity practised on the natives, or of any attempt to coerce them by per- secution, or other harsh measures, to adopt the religion of their conquerors. The subject tribes were reduced to a state of servitude, but the yoke of tlieir new masters was comparatively an easy burden, and beyond maintaining order and exacting a heavy tribute, the dominant race interfered little with the people they dispossessed. The space at my command precludes my entering into the attempts made by Western nations to force a north-eastern passage, and to penetrate to distant Cathay througli the icy barrier of the Frozen Ocean, but I shall refer at length to the recent eftbrts made by enterprising men to open up a water communication between Europe and the mighty rivers that flow into the Arctic Sea from the very southern confines of Siberia — GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES. 7 adventurous undertakings that have been crowned with the success which usually waits upon energy and indomi- table perseverance. In conclusion, I shall endeavour to draw a picture of " Frozen Asia " as it is to-day. Siberia is commonly regarded by the mass of our countrymen as .a sterile inclement wilderness, rich \\\ certain ores, and in animals producing the costly furs by which the wealthy seek to protect themselves from the rigours of winter ; but beyond this— and the sinister cele- brity which has attached itself to the country as forming a Russian penal settlement, where captives are popularly supposed to undergo sentences of merciless severity and life-long duration— beyond this, little is known concerning a land fraught with interest alike to the student of science, and to the enterprising merchant seeking a new field for extended commercial relations. I trust to show that this neglect of ours can no longer be excused, and that a closer acquaintance with Siberia will awaken an interest amply repaying the pains bestowed on the investi- gation. From the date when the Cossacks first pushed eastwards into the sparsely-peopled solitudes of Northern Asia, its modern exploration may be said to have com- menced, and within three generations the grandsons of these adventurers had planted their flag on the shores of the Pacific. Neither was it long before the Russian Government recognised the value of their newly-acquired FROZEN ASIA. provinces. The lucrative traffic with China, the dis- covery of rich mines, and the importance of opening out routes to, and securing the sea-board of, the Pacific, led to the establishment of numerous settlements, from whence researches were pushed forth in every direction. Nor did they disdain to supplement native energy by the enlistment of foreign aid, more particularly in the domain of scientific exploration. At various times Britain, Holland, Sweden, Germany, France, and the United States have each furnished contingents in fur- therance of this object, and already the results of their investigations have pro\-ed most valuable. That an increased intimacy with distant nations should be established — smoothing the path whereby the glad tidings of great joy are carried abroad, and tending to unite all races in the bonds of Christian brotherhood — is in itself no slight result ; but laying matters of such deep import entirely aside, and considering the subject only from a worldly point of view, it may without exaggeration be said that there is no branch of human knowledge which has not been both benefited and augmented by the labours of these earnest explorers. Ethnology has occupied the attention of one party ; ornithology and botany that of a second ; the laying open new fields for commercial enterprise has taxed the energies of a third ] but all have striven manfully, and GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES. 9 in tlieir difterent splieres added to our knowledge of diis distant realm. The reader wlio turns over a recent volume of any of our scientific journals will at once see the attention which is now bestoweil upon Northern Asia ; and although the information that I am able to present in this volume is limited, I trust to awaken the interest of all who may do me the honour of reading these pages, so for as to incite them to watch the pro- gress of discovery in that quarter of the globe, and to fill in for themselves the outline that I have here traced. A clear knowledge of the extent and position of the country under consideration being essential in a volume of this nature, I shall commence with an account of the geogi-aphical features of the region with w-hich we are now concerned. That part of the continent of Asia which extends eastward from the Ural (pronounced Oo-ral in Russian) Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, and from the Arctic Ocean on the north to the boundaries of the Chinese Empire and Turkestan in the south, is called Siberia. Its western boundary is continuous wdth Russia in Europe, the empire to which it belongs ; and on both the north and to the east we find that Nature has placed the sea as an insuperable barrier to its further extension. But t) the southward it is far otherwise. There the Muscovite dominions join the frontiers of the Chinese lO FROZEN ASIA. Empire, and the territories of numerous small principali- ties or Klianates, whicli are becoming slowly but surely absorbed as their inhabitants are brought into contact with their powerful neighbour. The exigencies of statecraft, and the strong proselytising spirit inherent in the members of the Orthodox Greek Church, both contribute to bring about a result which history shows us must inevitably occur when civilisation and barbarism are brought into close communion ; the weaker must yield — must be displaced in accordance with the dictates of an immutable law which peremptorily forbids their co-existence. Nor is it a result to be deplored. The civilising influence of Russia may leave much to be desired, but no one can deny that it is a grand advance on the savagery and heathenism at present existing throughout many of the Central Asian Khanates. If Christianity does not reach these people precisely in the form that we should wish, still some of its beneficent influences are brought to bear upon them — some rays of light are admitted where all has hitherto been darkness. Into any considerations of the justness of this absorp- tion of lesser states by a greater, and of the political complications arising therefrom, I shall not enter, my object being gained when I have pointed out the differences that each year makes in the southern boundary of Siberia, involving an advance of frontier GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES. II that only a map of large dimensions could explain minutely. Thus, in preference to stating each turn and bend of the ever-shifting line of demarcation between Russia in Asia and her neighbours, a plan which would probably weary the reader unacquainted with that little- known locality, I content myself with saying that, roughly speaking, Siberia is bounded on the south by Turkestan and the Chinese Empire, a definition answer- ing all practical purposes, as this volume will treat chiefly of the northern portion of Russia's Asiatic territory, reserving Khiva, Bokhara, and the other Khanates for another occasion. Siberia lies (roughly) between the 45th and 77th parallels of north latitude, and extends from the 60th to the 190th degree of east longitude. Its most northern point is Cape Severo, or North-East Cape, a tongue of land between the estuaries of the great rivers Yenisei and Lena; Cape Vostotchni, its eastern extre- mity, is distant only forty-eight miles from Cape Prince of Wales in North America, from which it is separated by Behring Strait. Its greatest length from East to "West is about 3,600 miles, and its greatest breadth from North to South a little less than 2,000 miles, forming an area which exceeds that of Europe by more than one million square miles. An almost unbroken uniformity of surface charac- 12 FROZEN ASIA. terises nearly the whole of this vast tract of country. Bordering on the Arctic Ocean, which except for a few months in the year is frozen, lies the Great Northern Plain, the largest level expanse of land on the face of the globe, which, embracing nearly the whole of Northern Asia, advances eastward into Europe, reach- ing to the mainland opposite the coast of Great Britain. It is stated that a traveller departing from London and journeying eastward between the 52nd and 53rd parallels of north latitude as far as 85 E. long., and from thence between 55 and 56 N. lat. would arrive on the banks of the river Lena, in long. 130 E., without encountering any mountain range except in one place, near the Ural River, where a chain of hills rises to a height never exceeding 2,000 feet. This unbroken journey would have extended over one-third of the cur- vature of the entire globe. Lideed, the Great Northern Plain would extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans, had Nature not planted at its two extremities barriers which protect it against the encroachments of the sea. The Scandinavian Mountains form its western boundary, whilst at the east, with whicli we are chiefly concerned, arise the Stanovoi Mountains, which run from the eastward of Lake Baikal to Behring Strait, following a north-easterly direction. Throughout the whole length of the Kamtchatkan Peninsula runs a GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES. 1 3 range containing some twenty active volcanoes, the loftiest of which— Kliuchev — attains an altitude of 16,131 feet. The fact that the mountains terminating both extremities of the Great Northern Plain are actively volcanic — for Iceland may be included in the Scandinavian Range — is worthy of notice. To bring the surface features of Siberia more closely home to the reader I follow the plan adopted by many geographers, and divide the whole country into three parts, namely :— Western, Central, and Eastern Siberia. The first-mentioned, which lies between the Ural Mountains and 85 E. long., consists of one unbroken plain, which may be divided into five regions : — The Steppe, which extends from the south to the 55th parallel; W\q. Agricultural District, stretching from thence to 60 N. lat, a tract of country well-watered and very fertile; \\\q Mining District, embracing the south-eastern part of Western Siberia, and including a portion of the Altai Mountains ; the Wooded Region lying north of the latter, unadapted to cultivation, the whole extent being clothed with varieties of the pine and fir species, amidst whose gloomy forests the fur-bearing animals find a home; and the Tundra, the most northerly portion of Western Siberia, a low level plain, destitute of trees, where the uniformity of the landscape is unbroken, save by a few stunted bushes cropping up from the 14 FROZEy ASIA. moss-covered surface, that are barely able to extract the means of existence from the frozen soil. Central Siberia is situated between 85 and 105 E. long., and includes the greater portion of the Altai Mountains ; the hilly country cast of the Obi River ; the valley of the Upper Yenisei ; the Plain of the Lower Angara River ; the Wooded Region ; and the Tundra. The Hilly Country extends to the banks of the Obi, which separates it from the Steppe of Baraba, and is almost entirely covered with fir-trees, the cones of which form an article of commerce with the more western countries ; the soil, however, being sandy but little cul- tivation is possible. East of the river Tom the country improves, spreading out into a table-land intersected by numerous rivers with depressed bottoms, where the soil is fertile and the villages, in consequence, numerous. To the northward of this runs the river Ket, which marks the limit of cultivation in this district. The Valley of the Yenisei, being inclosed by mountain ridges, was con- sidered at one time the warmest, as well as the most fertile part of Siberia, but many travellers now award the ])alm to the land in the vicinity of the Obi. Westward of the Vale, between the 8Sth and SQth degrees of E. long., rise the Teletskoi ^Mountains ; to the southward lie the Mountains of Sayansk, uniting the Altai Mountains to the range called Erghik Targak Taiga, and separating GEOCRAPIJICAL FEATURES. I5 Siberia from the Chinese Empire ; this chain extends northward to the town of the same name (Sayansk), the Yenisei flowing through it by a long and narrow gorge. The Vale of the Yenisei covers about 350 miles from north to south, and 200 from east to west, of which area one-half is occupied by mountains. The river flows through a broad flat containing an alluvial deposit of from two to three feet in depth, and of great fertility. Cereals here grow abundantly, and the higher ground being well watered, is covered with a rich turf through- out the year on which many cattle are depastured, the mildness of the climate proving favourable to stock- raising. The wild hemp, wild flax, wild Siberian buck- wheat, and many other useful plants are indigenous to the bottoms of the Yenisei, and the inhabitants are careful to utilise them in various ways. The Plain of the Lower Angara River lies to the eastward of the southern portion of Central Siberia, and consists of a gentle incline sinking towards the north, and in that direction traversed by several rivers which flow into the Lower Angara and Upper Tunguska. The surface is diversified, hills of moderate height alternating with extensive level valleys. The former are unreclaimed, being covered with forests of fir and birch, but in the latter rye, oats, hemp, and tobacco are successfully cultivated. The cold in this region is very severe, the mean annual temperature being beneath 1 6 FROZEN ASIA. freezing point, but owing to the dryness of tlie atmosphere the snowfixU is inconsiderable. The wandering tribes that inhabit this tract maintain themselves chiefly by hunting, and collecting furs, the elk, mountain-goat, lynx, and sable being plentiful ; this is the northern limit of the camel as a domesticated animal. Northward of the rivers Upper Tunguska and Ket lie the Wooded Rcgioii and the Tinidra, the latter of which extends to the Arctic Ocean. Eastern Siberia comprehends the whole of the country lying to the eastward of io6 E. long., and is equal in size to both Western and Central Siberia united. Owing to the greater elevation of portions of its surface and the severity of its climate, this vast tract contains a far smaller portion of land fit for agricultural purposes than either of the other divisions, and consequently pos- sesses less interest in many respects. Between the Chinese frontier and the town of Okhotsk the coast is rugged, steep rocks rising abruptly from the sea to the height of 3,000 feet, which may be considered as the general level of the country extending westward from the sea — southward of the 60th parallel— to the meridian of the town of Yakutsk, and thence in a south-westerly direction to the shores of Lake Baikal, the vale of the Lena forming its northern boundary in this part. The surface is a succession of flat plains, separated from each other by small ridges or narrow tortuous valleys, forming GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES. I 7 a region utterly useless for agricultural purposes, and apj)arently equally unadapted to pastoral pursuits, the surface being covered with fir, birch, and other trees, and dotted with lakes surrounded by high hills, which are frozen nearly the whole year round. This region is cha- racterised by the length and severity of its winters, and is a dreary inhospitable waste, incapable of improvement, and serving only as a hunting ground for wandering tribes of hardy Tungooses, who find in its valleys flocks of rein- deer and the argali or wild sheep. At the south-western extremity of this wilderness lies Lake Baikal. The most southern portion of Eastern Siberia is divided by a range of mountains into two parts, — the valleys of the rivers Selenga and Shilka, the former of which falls into Lake Baikal, the latter into the Amur, of which it forms one of the principal tributaries. The larger portion of the basin of the Selenga lies east of the river and consists of three valleys, the upper parts of which are too cold for cultivation, but in the lower, agriculture has been success- fully followed. The valley of the Selenga itself is arid and unproductive, but its slopes furnish good pasture land. Some ten miles from its mouth, the river enters a level plain extending for a considerable distance along the shores of Lake Baikal, above which it is slightly elevated. The western portion of the basin of the Selenga consists of a plain, whereon numerous herds of horses 1/ B 1 8 FROZEN ASIA. and cattle are depastured by the Buriates, to whom the country belongs. The forest-clad mountains east of the river abound with wild animals, such as bears, wolverenes, elks, deer, wolves, sables, wild goats, and many others. The portion of Eastern Siberia drained by the Shilka, may be considered an entirely mountainous region, with open valleys capable of cultivation. Its southern part is knoATO as the Steppe of the Kerulen, and has a flat surface ({uite unfitted for agricultural jjurposcs, but strewn with small stones, amongst which are found beryls, topazes, and jasper ; and the neighbouring mountains are rich in silver, tin, lead, and zinc, all of which are worked. The Upper Valley of the Lena constitutes one of the agricul- tural districts of Eastern Siberia, cereals and vegetables thriving as far north as the town of Yakutsk ; the islands with which the bed of the river is thickly sown, and the low banks, are covered with the willow, poplar, and birch ; whilst the openly wooded countr}- affords nourishment to the flocks of the Yakutes. The ricliest pastoral tract in the district lies, round the town of Yakutsk, and innu- merable herds roam over the low country which extends from the Lena eastward to tlie river Aldan. Another extensive sweep of pasture land is found on the river Vilui, one of the tributaries of the Lena. The whole country east of the Aldan is mountainous, extending some two hundred miles east to the vicinity of the GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES. 1 9 Pacific ; at its most elevated part it attains an altitude of nearly 2,500 feet, and affords a hunting ground to the wandering Tungooses. At the northern extremity of the Aldan Mountains is a group, from which two chains take off One — called by the Russians Stanovoi Khrebet — runs, first east, and afterwards north-east, parallel with the coast. In long. 164 E., at the source of the river Anadyr, this chain divides, one branch taking a south- easterly course and then bending further south, forms the back-bone of the peninsula of Kamtchatka ; the other extends north-east in the direction of Behring Strait, terminating in East Cape. The other chain taking off from the group at the extremity of the Aldan Mountains, pursues at first a north-westerly direction, but afterwards bends more to the west and runs parallel to the Aldan River and to the Lena until it terminates in lat. 67 N. Between the Lena and the Kolyma — the latter a con- siderable river flowing into the Arctic Ocean in long. 160 E., after preserving a general north-east direction — ■ the country is traversed by small mountain chains of slight elevation but of considerable width, which nm north and south, and are clothed with stunted forest trees. Between these lie extensive level plains inter- spersed with small sheets of water containing i)lenty of fish, and having tolerable pasture on their banks. The wide flat valleys known as " dry lakes" (albicti) are her B 2 20 FROZEN ASIA. found, and afford rich feed to the flocks of the Yakutes. They are a peculiar feature in Siberian geography, con- sisting of slight depressions in the surface of the plain, Avhich, during the inundations of the large rivers become filled with v.-ater, whicli remain there until the frosts of winter burst the earth and form innumerable fissures through which the water escapes, when in the following spring a rich luxuriant vegetation arises throughout their beds. Along the polar sea runs the tundra com- mon to the three geographical divisions of Siberia. This expanse of desolation is thus described by Baron von Haxthausen : — " The entire northern coast of Siberia, extending along the shores of the Arctic Ocean for nearly four thousand miles in length, and 130 to 450 miles in breadth, is, as far as we know, a swamp, overgrown with moss and lichens, upon which neither man nor beast could set foot in summer, did not the ground remain perpetually frozen to a depth of several hundred feet, whilst in summer it thaws a little more than a foot deej). These districts are named Timdras, a Finnish word, it is said, adopted by the Russians. The isolated dry Tundras arc always covered with lichens, and the wet ones with moss. Wahlenberg maintains that the dry lichen-soil is so much heated in summer, that the feet can hardly bear to tread upon it." CEOGRArillCAL FEATURES. 21 Another traveller '•' gives a graphic description of this wilderness. " By four o'clock the next morning we had renewed our journey, taking an easterly course from the yourt, over a vast barren tundra, leaving all traces of vegetation behind us. The snow of the tundra, having been subjected to the warm rays of the sun for several days, presented a glassy surfiice, from which the reflected sunlight shone with such dazzling brilliancy that in a few moments our whole party was nearly blinded, and we were compelled to revert to our goggles for protection. Even these hardly sufficed to shield our eyes, and it was only with pain that we could look upon the snow at all. Our drivers were even less fortunate than we, as they were compelled to keep their eyes open in order to direct the dogs, and their protectors were not as effectual as ours " After two hours' travel the dark line of timber had entirely vanished in the distance behind us, and we found ourselves wending our way over the trackless waste, which extended on all sides in undulating sweeps, bounded only by the horizon. The dreary solitude and awful silence that reigned over this rigid, lifeless expanse produced a feeling of strangeness that I could not overcome — a feel- ing as if some dread calamity was about to be launched * Mr. Richard J. Bush, late of the Russo-Americaii Telegraph Expedition. 22 FROZEN ASIA. upon US. I experienced a longing sensation, and felt that if I could only see some motion, if nothing more than the lluttering of a dry leaf, or if a dead, knotty stump would only present itself jutting from the snow, how great a relief it would be ! But no ; there it lay, cold, stark, stiff, and motionless, the very corpse of Nature, over whose lifeless form we were noiselessly picking our way. For more than two hours I did not hear a word spoken, or a sound from man or beast. All seemed to be under the influence of the spell." The country between the rivers Kolyma and Indijirka resembles in character the rolling prairies of North America ; long low swells running north and south, and terminating in bluffs upon the Arctic Ocean, render the coast in that part alternately high and low. This tract has numerous lakes scattered over its surface, and on the fish afforded by these and the rivers, the few inhabitants of this inclement region entirely subsist. East of the Kolyma the country alters. On that side the spurs of the Stanovoi Range approach the river, rendering its banks jjrecipitous, and mountain ranges, attaining an alti- tude of 3,000 feet above the sea, rise in every direction, and in several places reach the sea, forming Capes Baranov (Sheep), Shelagskoi, and Sie\eroi or North Cape, so named by the circumnavigator Cook in 1771. Between these elevated bluffs the coast is low and the GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES. 23 country inland of tlic character already described as 7\u-idra. The forests clothing this mountainous tract abound with reindeer, bears, elks, and sables ; the surface of the Kolyma and its tributaries is covered with wild swans, geese, and ducks ; whilst the rivers themselves yield an abundant supply of fish, the most common species being the herring. The extreme north-east portion of the Asiatic continent is sterile in the highest degree, consisting of rocky ranges and valleys destitute of all vegetation except the moss on which the reindeer browse. In this barren waste dwell the Tschuktschis, subsisting by the chase and by the produce of their herds of tame reindeer. We now pass on to Kamtchatka, the peninsula running nearly due south from the north-eastern extremity of Asia. It lies between 51 and ()i N. lat. and 155 and 165 E. long., having a length of Soo miles, and a breadth varying from 30 to 120 miles. Its total area is estimated at 80,000 square miles. Cape Loi)atka, in lat. 51 N., the southern extremity of Kamtchatka, is a low narrow tongue of land, which spreads out as it proceeds northward, rising into rocky and barren hills with small valleys timbered with willow and stunted birch. Two degrees north of Cape Lopatka the range divides, one portion running due north, the other taking a north-easterly direction, and in the fork formed by these two chains lies the valley of the river 24 FROZEN ASIA. Kamtchatka. The western chain has been mentioned above as forming part of the eastern branch of the Aldan Mountains; and is of inconsiderable altitude, rarely rising above the tree-line {3,000 feet) ; but the eastern range has many high mountains entirely of volcanic for- mation, amongst which are five or six in a state of almost uninterrupted activity. These volcanoes are said to con- stitute the northern extremity of that extensive series which incloses the eastern coast of Asia, and, traversing the islands of Japan and the Philippines, probably has a connection with another series of volcanoes which tra- verse the Sunda and Molucca islands from east to west.* Only a few of the most prominent peaks of either of the Kamtchatdal ranges are named. On the east the mountains approach close to the sea-coast, which is com- posed of high rocks and rugged cliffs, together with bold promontories which form numerous inlets, useless to the navigator from their entrances being blocked up with reefs. Avatcha Bay, whereon stands the small town of Petropaulovsk, is an exception to this rule, affording a good sheltered anchorage to shipping. Earthquakes are of frequent occurrence in this district. The western portion of the Kamtchatdal coast skirting the Sea of Okhotsk is generally low and sandy, producing only willow and mountain-ash, with scattered patches of * " English Cyclopaedia." Art. Kamtchatka. GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES. 25 Stunted bircli ; towards the north reindeer moss appears in great quantity. The Kamtcliatka is the only river in the peninsula thait merits notice. It flows for a distance of 300 miles, and debouches in a large shallow bay, exposed to the full vio- lence of all easterly winds. The rivers flowing into the Sea of Okhotsk are insignificant, the largest amongst them having only six feet on tlie bar at low water, and the sea running shallow to a considerable distance. The climate, though severe, is much milder than in the eastern parts of the mainland, indeed one traveller'" goes so far as to say that " the vegetation has an almost tropical freshness and luxuriance, totally at variance with all one's ideas of Kamtchatka." The frost sets in about the middle of October, but up to December the temperature rarely falls below ten degrees of freezing point ; in excep- tionally severe winters the thermometer has been known to indicate — 25, but such an occurrence is rare. From all quarters we hear praises of the Kamtchatdal scenery. The writer quoted above says, " The central and southern parts of the peninsula are broken up by the spurs and foot-hills of the great mountain range into deep sequestered valleys of the wildest and most picturesque character, and afford scenery which, for majestic and varied beauty, is not surpassed in all Northern Asia." * "Tent Life in Siberia." By George Kennan. 26 FROZEN ASIA. Agriculture was introduced into the peninsula of Kamtchatka, by the Russians, about the middle of last century. In the vale of the main river many vegetables are grown, and both horses and cattle thrive and increase. The native inhabitants form two distinct tribes, the Kamtchatdals and the Koriaks, the former a short stout race, with large heads, flat faces, prominent cheek bones, thin lips, and flattened noses ; the latter, chiefly hunters and fishermen, differ from their neighbours in the small- ness of their heads, and inhabit the northern portion of the peninsula, together with a part of the continent. Both tribes have many curious customs, but these I shall describe further on. The population of the whole region is estimated by Mr. Kennan at 5,000. I now proceed to give a slight geographical sketch of the territory through which the Amur flows, and of the recently acquired Russian district to which it has given its name. The Amur, Amoor, or Sakalin river, one of the largest streams in Asia, rises in lat. 50 N., and long. no E., and after draining an immense tract of country falls into the sea opposite the northern extremity of the island of Taraki, formerly known as Sakalin or Krafto. To record its winding course, and its junction by numerous tributaries, would occupy more sjjace than I ha\ c at my disposal, I shall therefore content myself with describing GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES. 27 its course from the junction of the great river Shilka at a spot in lat. 53 20' N., and long. 121 30' E., called Ust (E) Strelka, at which point the Russians bestow upon it the name Amur, a word adopted from the Tungooses, in whose language it signifies " The (Ircat River," or " The Great Water." The Manchu Tartars continue still to call it Sakalin-Ula, or " The River of Black Water." From Ust Strelka the Amoor runs between the Russian territory on the north and Northern Manchuria, bending in an arc towards the south as far as lat. 47 30' N. ; then turning in a north-easterly direction which it roughly pursues until it reaches the sea. The whole length of this noble stream is estimated at 2,400 miles, throughout the greater portion of which it is navigable, although the sand and mud which fills its estuary renders the ascent difficult for the first forty miles. The Russians have sur- veyed the river accurately and planted wooden triangles on the bank as sailing marks, which are painted white, and thus show out distinctly against the background of dark fir-trees. Nevertheless Captain Bax, who recently proceeded up the Amur in H.M.S. Divarf, says, " The channel is very narrow and intricate ; even for a vessel drawing only eight feet and a half of water, it was neces- sary to be very careful in keeping the marks exactly on to prevent grounding." For more than two hundred years the Russians, seeing 2 8 FROZEN ASIA. the great advantages that the possession of this river would afford tliem, had endeavoured by every means in their power to estabUsh a footing on its right, or southern, bank ; but their encroachments were ahvays steadily re^ sisted by the Chinese, and for many years a constant petty warfare was waged on the frontier between the two empires. At the commencement of the present century efforts were made to render the navigation of the Amur free, but the Chinese v/ould make no concession, and the negotiations fell through. So matters remained until 1850, when a Russian exploring expedition ascended the river, and in the following year two trading ■ ports, Nicolaievsk and Tvlarinsk were established, the latter on the south side of the stream. During the Russian war of 1854-5-6, a Russian squadron took refuge in the Amur, and seized the opportunity to strengthen their positions on its banks. Peace left them at liberty to continue their endeavours, and in 1858 China, weakened by the war then going on between herself and Great Britain and France, concluded a treaty favourable to the Russians, whereby many commercial advantages were conceded to them. After the defeat of the British on the Peiho, the Chinese Government repudiated this treaty, but, on the seizure of Peking by the allies, the Russians again pressed their claims, and this time obtained an augmentation of territory that under other circumstances they could hardly CEOCRAPinCAL FEATURES. 2() have hoped for. By a treaty conckided on November 14th, 1S60, between Russia and China, the eastern boundary of the latter was settled to commence at the junction of the Shilka with the Argun (Upper Amur), following the river from that point to the junction of the Usuri, the left (northern) bank being conceded to Russia. "The boundary then ascends the Usuri, all on the right bank belonging to Russia, to the Lake of Kingka, crosses the lake, ascends the Belen-ho, trending back to the north-west, skirting the mountains between Hun- chun and the sea, so as to include Korea, and resting upon the river Tinmen, about seven miles from the sea. Thus a territory larger than the United Kingdom has passed from the one monarchy to the other ; a territory possessing the whole coast of the Channel of Tartary, with several good bays. In addition, the island of Saghalien, which stretches from north to south along the coast, was made over to them, except the southern end, which as yet belongs to Japan," being separated by a narrow strait from Yeso." f This portion, however, now acknowledges the sway of the same rule, having been ceded by treaties signed within the last few months. The country thus acquired belongs to the Government of Eastern Siberia, and is known as the Amur Territory and Maritime Province. * Surrendered to Russia, January, 1879. t " English CyclopDedia," Supplement. Art. Amur. CHAPTER II. MOUNTAINS, RIVERS, AND LAKES. AVING briefly described the general geo- graphical features of Siberia, I now proceed to notice the mountain ranges, indicating their general direction, and tracing the course of the principal rivers, which arise 'i^ amongst them, and drain the entire northern portion i of the Asiatic continent. Such a sketch must necessarily be confined to a mere outline, but I hope, nevertheless, to bring the physical features of the region, together with its most prominent cliaractcristics, to the reader's notice in an intelligible, if simple, form. Considered as a whole, Siberia may be said to contain only two mountain ranges of great extent, the Ural and the Altai Mountains, and of these the former, strictly speaking, hardly merits the name of a " range," its altitude being inconsiderable and the slopes on either side so gentle that in many places the traveller is puzzled to know at what point the plain ends and the mountains urouNTAiys, kii'ers, a.xd lakes. 31 commence. But from the foot of the Ural Mountains formhig the boundary between Europe and Siberia, together with the mineral treasures that they contain, a description of them becomes necessary in these pages. The Ural chain extends north and south, from the country between the Caspian and the Sea of Aral, to the Kara Sea, and reappearing — though under another name — in Novaia Zemlia, continues to the northern extremity of that island, a distance exceeding 1,700 miles in length. Its southern portion does not surpass the Vosges in altitude, but is a pastoral country about 100 miles in breadth, consisting of parallel and longitudinal swells, the highest of which does not rise above 3,500 feet ; in these ridges diamonds are found. The portion of the chain running northward from the sources of the Petchora is more elevated, having an average height of over 3,000 feet, and containing several peaks, amongst the loftiest of which are Konjakovsky, 5,397 feet, and Toll Poss, 5,250 feet ; but no part of the range is perma- nently covered with snow. Mrs. Somerville, in her Physical Geography, tells us "Throughout the Ural Mountains there are neither precipices, transverse gorges, nor any of the characteristics of a high chain ; the descent on both sides is so gentle that it is difficult to know where the plain begins ; and the road over the chain from Russia by Ekaterinburg is so low that it hardly seems to 32 FROZEN ASIA. be a mountain Pass. The gentle descent and sluggish- ness of the streams produce extensive marshes along the Siberian base of the range." The chain is composed of crystalline and metamorphic rocks, granite, gneiss, porphyry, and micaceous schists ; its mineral riches are very great, consisting of gold, platinum, magnetic iron, copper, and coal, most of which are found on the eastern or Siberian declivity. Further particulars concerning the mines of the Ural Avill be given in another place. The Altai Mountains, or more properly speaking the Altai System, is the range forming the northern margin of the great Central Asian table-land, and extends in a ser- pentine line, and under various names, from the eastern bank of the river Irtish to the Sea of Okhotsk and to East Cape in Behring Strait. It was at one time thought that this chain was connected with the Ural Mountains, but it has been ascertained beyond doubt that many hundred miles of low marshy country, as well as the Kirghiz Steppe, separate them, and they are now regarded 05 totally distinct ranges. The breadth of the chain is not accurately known, as to the south it traverses countries belonging to the Chinese Empire, as yet un- surveyed by Europeans ; but in the maps at Peking it is inserted as extending further to the south than to the north, in which case at one point it would cover some twelve MOUXTAIXS, KiyERS, AND LAKES. T^^ degrees of latitude— from 45 to 57 N.— a distance equal to the entire length of England and France from north to south. Its breadth has been ascertained to vary con- siderably, geographers say from 1,000 to 400 miles, and near the 105th meridian it contracts to 150 miles. Its entire length is about 4,500 miles, the temi Altai being applied only to the portion lying west of long. 86 E. This part consists of a succession of terraces with swellinf^ outline, descending in steps from the table-land, and terminating in promontories on the Siberian plains ; on these terraces are numerous large lakes. " The general form of this part of the chain is monotonous from the prevalence of straight lines and smooth rounded outlines —long ridges with flattened summits on small table-lands not more than 6,000 ft. high, which rarely attain the line of perpetual congelation ; snow, however, is permanent on the Korgon table-land, 9,900 ft. above the sea, sup- posed to be the culminating point of this part of the chain. These table-lands bear a strong resemblance to those in the Scandinavian Mountains in barrenness and sterility, but their flanks are clothed with forests, verdant meadows, and pastoral valleys."* East of the 86th meridian the chain divides into three ranges, inclosing extensive valleys between them. The Sayansk and Tannu-ola Mountains, which form the * "Physical Geography." By Mary Somtrville. C 34 FROZEN ASIA. northern and central ranges, unite in a mountain knot to the west of Lake Baikal, rich in mineral wealth. The third range runs to the south of Lake Ubsa. Geologically the Altai Mountains have been described as a rocky promontory projecting from the primitive for- mations which constitute the table-land of Chinese Tar- Xzxy, into the alluvial deposit of the great Siberian plain. Rocks of the Paloeozoic series not yet classified form the greater portion of the range. Clay slate, chlorite slate, and mica slate abound in the upper districts ; and through tliese granite, gneiss, syenite, porphyry, and greenstone have forced their way, whilst carboniferous limestone and sandstone, rich in fossil remains, are also found. The two pillars of Katunya, rising to nearly 13,000 feet, are the highest known peaks of the Altai, and in their vicinity the scenery is described as most imposing, stupendous rocks and glaciers existing in the unfre- quented solitudes of the range. Southward of Lake Baikal the Altai chain is known as the Dauria Mountains, which consist of several parallel ranges ; further east they take the name of Yablonoi Khrebet, and under this appellation continue to the Sea of Okhotsk ; whilst from the Yablonoi springs the Stanovoi Range, which, running north-east, terminates with the continent at Behring Strait. I now turn to the rivers of Siberia, amongst which are MOUNTAINS, RIVERS, AND LAKES. 35 numbered some of the largest and most remarkable in the world, both from their size and volume, as well as for the great distance througliout which they are navigable, their waters affording an easy communication from the more favoured southern regions, where Nature permits cereals and other produce essential to mankind, to flourish, and the inclement northern wilds or the more desolate tundra. It is worthy of remark that the principal Siberian rivers pursue a course that may be roughly called due north and south, whereas their largest and most important tributaries run east and west, the whole forming a gigantic water system unequalled throughout the globe. The larger rivers, the Obi, Yenisei, and Lena, drain the country lying between the Central Asian table-land and the Arctic Ocean ; I commence with the first-named, which is closer to Europe than its sister streams. The Obi, Oby, or Ob, is the largest river of the Old Continent, having a total length of nearly 3,000 miles, and draining an area computed at 1,300,000 square miles. This tract, the basin of the Obi, extends from lat. 47 to 74 N., or nearly 1,900 miles in length ; and in the widest part (lat. 55 N.), it is 1,200 miles across, com- prehending an expanse of country only inferior in size to the Valleys of the Amazon and La Plata in South America. The Obi takes its rise in the defiles of the Altai Mountains, those streams which descend from the c 2 36 FROZEN ASIA. northern declivity of the range running into the Obi, those on the western into the Irtish. The latter rises in Mongolia, and is really the main branch of the river. From its source it runs westward to Lake Zaizan, a sheet of water 1,700 feet above the level of the sea, and 200 miles in circumference. Issuing thence it follows a general north-west course, past Semipalatinsk, Omsk, and Tara, to Tobolsk, where it receives the waters of the Tobol, which is fed from the Ural Mountains. At Tobolsk the Irtish turns north, which direction it main- tains until its junction with the Obi, when the joint stream continues northward, receiving numerous tri- butaries from the Ural Mountains and the country lying east of its course, and increasing in magnitude until it falls into the Gulf of Obi by three arms, of which the eastern is the largest and deepest. The estuary of the Obi abounds in walruses and seals, which are captured by the fishermen of Obdorsk, the most northern settlement in this district — lat. 66 34' N. This remote little station has some 150 inhabitants, dwelling in houses built of ships' timbers. A stranger entering the village in summer would suppose it to be deserted, no human form being visible and the doors all locked. Young and old having rcixaired to the Gulf for the fishing is the explanation of this. Every year, at Christmas, there is a fair, to which 10,000 people resort. MOUNTAIN'S, RIVERS, AND LAKES. 37 principally merchants, who exchange the furs of the fox, lynx, squirrel, marten, otter, bear, wolf, reindeer, ermine, and sable for ready-made winter clothing. Thirty-two steamers were plying upon the Obi at the close of 1876, and their number is increasing yearly. The basin of this noble river is very rich in wheat, minerals, cattle, and other products, and contains over 2,500,000 inhabitants. The second river in magnitude of Siberia is the Yenisei, whose basin extends over an area of little less than one million of miles. Its remotest branches originate in the Chinese Empire amongst the slopes of the Sayansk and Tannu Ola Mountains. Bursting through the Sayansk chain in a series of cataracts and rapids, it enters the plains of Siberia some distance to the southward of Krasnoiarsk, above which it is joined by the Angara River, which flows from Lake Baikal near Irkutsk. From this point it pursues a northerly direction, receiving the waters of its principal tributaries, the INIiddle and Lower Tunguska in lat. 62 N. and 66 N. Numerous other streams from east and west join it on its passage to the Arctic Ocean, into which it falls in lat. 70 N., where it enlarges into a wide estuary, interspersed with low islands and shoals, called the Gulf of Yenisei. To the northward of the town of Yeniseisk it receives, from the westward, the Ulu-kem, a small river but of considerable importance as a link in the line of water communication extending 3o FROZEN ASIA. from the boundary of the Chinese Empire, soutli of Lake Baikal, to the foot of the Ural chain. The total length of the Yenisei may be estimated at 2,800 miles. Between the estuaries of the Obi and Yenisei several comparatively small rivers fall into the Arctic Ocean, the principal amongst which are the Nadym, the Pur, and the Taz ; whilst to the eastward of the Yenisei we find the Pyasina, the Khatanga, the Anabara, and the Olenek which, after pursuing a general northerly course, reach the same destination. The third great river of Northern Asia is the Lena, whose waters drain an area of about 800,000 square miles. This river rises in the slopes skirting the western, side of Lake Baikal, near Irkutsk, and pursues a north- easterly direction as far as Yakutsk — described as the coldest town on the face of the globe — after which its course runs due north until it falls into the Arctic Ocean, its mouth forming a delta which projects into the sea. The total length of the Lena is about 2,500 miles, and amongst its most important tributaries may be mentioned the Vitim, the Olekma, and the Aldan, flowing from the south-east and east, and the Vilui, which joins it about lat. 64 N. from the west. Near the mouth of the Lena stand the banks of frozen mud in which are found en- closed the bones of an extinct species of elephant and rhinoceros ; these I shall refer to later on. East of the Lena lie the embouchures of the rivers MOUNTAINS, RIVERS, AND LAKES. 39 Yana, Indijirka, and Kolyma, all of which are navigable and of considerable magnitude, though dwarfed by the vast dimensions of their giant sister. The Anadyr River rises on the south side of the moun- tain range that terminates at Behring Strait, the small lake from whence it issues being as nearly as possible on the Arctic Circle. It pursues a devious easterly course for 600 miles before falling into that part of the Pacific Ocean known as Behring Sea, in which it forms a small gulf on which it has bestowed its own name. The country traversed by this river consists of naked, barren, rocky hills of variable height, a bleak inhospitable corner of the earth where the summer never exceeds three months in duration, and where no domestic animals less hardy than the reindeer and dog can exist. Various small rivers fall into the Sea of Okhotsk, none of which merit our special attention. The Amur I have already touched upon in describing the territory to which it has given its name. Lakes of varying depth and dimensions, some salt and devoid of animal life, others sweet and teaming with fish, are found throughout the whole of Siberia, but none of them are important enough to demand a separate notice, with the exception of those in the Altai Range, which are scattered, at different elevations, over the ter- races forming the descent from the table-land to the Siberian plain. Of these the most important is Lake 40 FROZEN ASIA. Baikal, an immense sheet of water embosomed in moun- tain ranges, and covering an area of 14,000 square miles. It lies between lat. 51 and 56 N., and long. 104 and III E., and is about 400 miles in length by 35 in breadth, having a circumference of nearly 1,200 miles, making it, next to the Caspian and Aral, the largest in- land sheet of water in Asia. It extends in the general direction of north-east and south-west, the extremities being somewhat bent, which gives it a rude resemblance to the moon when a week old ; by the Russians it is called Svyatoe More, or Holy Sea. Lake Baikal is surrounded by desolate and rugged though picturesque shores, formed on the north-west by the mountains, which encircle it closely, and which are densely covered with forest trees. Its depth is great but variable, the deepest part lying at the extreme south-west end, and, according to soundings taken in 1872, showing 600 fathoms. Innumerable small mountain torrents flow into the lake, and it is joined by the Upper Angara River at its north end, the Lower Angara issuing from it near the south, and forming the sole outlet that it possesses. The Selenga, flowing into it on the south-cast, is its largest tributary. Agriculture in the neighbourhood of Lake Baikal is ver}' unprofitable, but the waters yield the scanty population abundant sup- plies of food. It is one of the few fresh water lakes in which the seal is found, and two thousand of these animals arc killed annually. CHAPTER III. THE GEOLOGY OF SIBERIA. ih^i^^^/^. HE geography of so vast a tract of country as Siberia can only be roughly described in the space to which this volume is limited, but I hope that the foregoing pages will give a sufficiently clear idea of the surface features of the country for all practical purposes. The same remark applies to the geo- logy, which I now present in a condensed forai, briefly portraying the principal formations, from the published accounts of the many industrious inquirers, who have been employed since the early part of the present century in the scientific exploration of Northern Asia. The great plain of Siberia may be described generally as buttressed east and west, and bounded to the south by mountainous masses of the Crystalline Schists. The western barrier of this formation, originating southwards near the parallel of 47 N. and 60 E. long., skirts the base of the line of the Ural chain on both sides. Towards the east, from the source of the Tobol to the FROZEN ASIA. mouth of the Obi, just under the Arctic Circle, the rocks of this character occupy a breadth of some five degrees of longitude. Here a bifurcation occurs, the western branch proceeding north to the shores of the Sea of Kara, the eastern one running in a line with, though at some distance from, the western coast of the Gulf of Obi, and terminating in the promontory of Olenoi Noss. In this inhospitable group, known as the Mountains of Obdorsk, are still found the cave-dwellings and traces of the mining operations of a pre-historic people; some \\Titers have conjectured that here was the home of the one-eyed Arimaspians of Herodotus. Not far from the southern termination of this extended line the same granitoid formation reappears towards the east, in the upper valleys of the Ishim, an afiluent of the Irtish, and of the Sari-Su, which drains into the Sea of Aral. But these clusters may be regarded as but mere fragments when compared with the great chain forming the southern boundary of Siberia. This lakes a course from south-west to north-east, from the seventieth (70") to the hundred and thirty-fifth (135°) degree of east longitude, and range from the forty-third (43°) to the fifty-eiglith (58°) parallel ; whilst its average breadth may be taken at from five to ten degrees. Rising in the neighbourhood of the springs of the Chui and embracing the basins of the Balkash and Issik Kul Lakes, it forms ■IIIE GEOLOGY OF SIBERIA. 43 in succession the ranges of the Thian Shan, the Altai', the Sayansk, the Daurian, and Yablonoi Mountains. This last- named range approaches within a few leagues of the littoral of the Sea of Okhotsk, and constitutes the water-shed of numerous streams which flow into that arm of the Pacific. The third instance of the occurrence of the Crystalline and Granitic rocks is in what we have referred to as the eastern buttress of Siberia, It forms the basin of the lower course of the Anadyr River, and stretches from about the one hundred and sixty-fifth (165°) degree of east longitude to the termination of the continent in the Vostotchni Noss, or East Cape. This tract has been but little explored with the exception of the coasts, where elevations of considerable height are reported. Besides these main fields of this formation, others exist of much smaller extent, but yet worthy of note, as it is in connection with the rocks of this character that the discovery of gold deposits has generally been made. Proceeding westwards then from the banks of the Ana- dyr, along the sixty-sixth (66°) parallel, we find another extensive surface of the same geological nature at about one hundred and thirty-five (135°) degrees east longitude. It is here that the source of the Yana is to be found almost encircled by spurs of the primary transition rocks of the Aldan Mountains. A still more important section offers itself in the same latitude and some thirty degrees 44 FROZEN ASIA. further west ; it extends from sixty-two (62") to seventy (70°) degrees north, and from ninety-six (96°) to one hundred and fourteen (114°) degrees east longitude. Here the Olenek and the Anabara take their rise, and the upper course of the Lower Tunguska occupies a considerable portion of the district. To the south-west of this great bed runs the valley of the Middle Tunguska, which from its source to its embouchure into the Lena, consists of the same schistous formation. In this valley rich gold-mines are worked, and within the last few months a nugget weighing one hundred pounds avoir- dupois, said to be the largest ever found in Siberia, has been dug up at a distance of about one hundred versts from the mouth of the river. The last instance of the appearance of this interesting formation that we shall mention lies to the northward of the two above described, and follows the direction of the ninety-fifth (95°) degree of east longitude from about the seventieth (70°) parallel northwards to the sea, form- ing the central ridge of the peninsula which ends in the bluff headland of Cape Taimyr. The Primary Stratifications, or, as they are usually termed, the Transition Series, including rocks partly Silurian, partly Devonian, and comprehending the Car- boniferous Systems, are not developed to such an extent as those of the Crystalline order, whose situation has been THE GEOLOGY OF SIBERIA. 45 described above. Compared, however, with the area of the British Isles, this formation in Siberia is three times as great as the whole superficial extent of the former. Commencing as before, from the western frontier, it first is met with in the extreme north, parallel and continuous with the western slope of the Granitic range of the Obdorsk Mountains. To the south it is found filling a considerable space, interspersed with volcanic rocks, be- tween the valleys of the Ishim and Tobol. The line it takes from west to east lies, generally speaking, under the fifty-first {51°) parallel, and the centre may be placed at about the sixty-fifth (65° E.) meridian. Another large tract spreads itself between the Ishim and the Irtish, the principal axis of which runs from south-east to north- west, between the forty-fourth (44°) and fifty-third (53°) parallels ; its ramifications stretching eastward and west- ward, cover some fourteen degrees, between the seventieth (70° E.) and eighty-fourth (84° E.) meridians. Further to the south-west the same rocks make their appearance flank- ing the western termination of the Thian Shan ; following the curves of that range they wind round it from the thirty- sixth (36°) to the forty-seventh (47°) degree of latitude, and from the sixty-fifth (65° E.) to the seventy-fifth (75° E.) meridian. It is here that the Sir Daria takes its rise. Crossing to the northern declivities of the Altai we fall in with several detached fields of the same formation to 46 FROZEN ASIA. the westward of the ninetieth (90° E.) meridian. Yet farther to the north it is exhibited to an extent far greater than any hitherto defined. A vast expanse of a rudely triangular form, of which the town of Irkutsk, under the fifty-first (51°) parallel, may be considered the apex, stretching westwards and eastwards to the eighty-fifth (85° E.) and hundred and twentieth (i2o°E.) meridians, and northwards to the sixtieth (60°) degree of latitude, presents one of the most extensive developments of this Geological Series in the world. This widely diversified region is drained by the upper streams of the Lena, the Angara, the Yenisei, and its tributaries, the Chin- chinsk and Ket, branches of the Tom, and so afiluents of the Obi. Descending the valley of the Yenisei, to its junction with the Bahta (63°), these rocks of the Transition Series occupy either bank, and again, lower down, near Turukhansk, where the Kursek unites its waters Vith the first-named river, they are also found. Further to the north, under the Arctic Circle, a huge mass of similar character trends in a north-eastern course through the barren tundras of the peninsula which terminates in the North East Cape from the seventieth (70°) to the seventy- eighth (78°) parallel, and between the ninety-fifth (95^ E.) and hundred and fifth (105'' E.) meridian. The most extensive bed, perhaps, of the Siberian Primary strata remains still to be described. THE GEOLOGY OF SIBERIA. 47 It lies to the north and north-west of the Sea of Okhotsk, between the fifty-second (52°) and seventieth (70°) parallels, and the hundred and thirtieth (130° E.) and hundred and seventy-third (173° E.) meridians. Its shape has been compared to the outline of the front view of the head of the Siberian elk. From its southern base the branches spread in four prolongations, the two centre taking a northerly, the outer ones a north-westerly and north-easterly direction respectively. Within these are comprised the main chains and offsets of the Stanovoi and Aldan ranges, which form the watersheds of the Yana, the Indijirka, the Kolyma, and the Anadyr Rivers, and the numberless tributaries which serve to swell the volume of their waters. Leaving behind the sterile wastes of the north and turning towards the frontiers of China, the same formation crops up in the neighbourhood of the upper stream of the Shilka, and between that river and the Argim, as also in the immediate proximity of their confluence with the Amur. Travelling westward from this last point, which is situated near the fifty- third (53°) parallel and the hun- dred and twenty-second (122° E.) meridian, these strata reappear near the sources of the Vitim. To mention them for the last time they are found again covering a considerable area upon the eastern side of Lake Baikal. It is now time to speak of the Secondary Series ; under 48 FROZEN ASIA. this order are included the different Chalk beds. Com- pared with the two formations of which we have already treated, this one occupies but a limited space. To the west, a patch commencing towards the south, in the neighbourhood of Irbit, extends as far north as the valley of the Tavda, under the parallel of sixty (60° N.). Several similar sporadic masses are scattered over the steppe of Ishim, and are found also eastward of the river of that name. In the upper course of the Irtish it is developed on a more extensive scale; the larger bed lies on the right bank of the river, and embracing the lakes of Tchany and Sumi or Chebaky, stretches from the forty- eighth (48°) to the fifty-fifth (55°) degree of north latitude. Northwards from this last point, proceeding from the source of the Ket to that of the Taz, these strata, more or less isolated, are continually met with between the seventy-eighth (78° E.) and eighty-second (82° E.) meri- dians. They present themselves again west and east of the course of the middle Lena, filling a large space bounded on the west by the River Vilui, and on the east by the upper streams of the Aldan. These beds wedged in between the Primary formations of the great triangle of Irkutsk, and those of the Stanovoi and Aldan Mountains, occupy a field within the limits of the sixtieth (60') and sixty-fifth (65°) parallels, and the hundred and twenty-fourth ( 1 24° E. ) and hundred and thirty-seventh (137° E.) meridians. THE GEOLOGY OF SIBERIA. 49 To the extreme cast of Siberia, the littoral of the western slopes of the peninsula of Kamtchatka, again exhibits rocks of a like Geological character. In entering on the delineation of the Tertiary and Alluvial formations of Siberia, it is to be observed that by far the greater extent of its surface still remains to be Geologically described. These later deposits make up three-fifths of the whole country, at least. The main field of the former one, an immense tract, which has its commencement at the foot of the Hindu Kush, may be taken as extending from that boundary, through the Khanates and Turkestan, to the shores of the Arctic Ocean. Restricting, however, its limits to Siberia proper, it spreads with few interruptions from about the forty- fifth (45'') parallel to the north coast, and from the lower declivities of the Ural Mountains in longitude sixty-five (65° E.), to the banks of the Yenisei under the ninetieth (90° E.) meridian. These formations, though of insig- nificant extent, when compared with this almost un- equalled instance, ajjpcar also in the broad valley of the Lower Amur, as well as towards the mouths of the Kolyma, Indijirka, and Yana. In the peninsula of Kamtchatka, a continuous band of these deposits runs parallel on the western side of the central volcanic line of mountains, lying between these and the rocks of the Secondary Series of the coast. D 50 FROZEN ASIA. The Alluvial beds, especially interesting as yielding numerous specimens of the antediluvian race of the mam- moth, even exceed in extent the deposits of the Tertiary System, just now dealt with. Skirting the shores of the Sea of Kara in European Russia, in Siberia, they form the littoral of the peninsula of Yalmal, of the gulfs of the Obi and of the Yenisei, spread eastward as far as the hundred and sixty-fifth (165° E.) meridian, through the wastes and solitudes of the tundras, whose dreary flats are only here and there broken by the intrusion of the Granitic and Primary ranges, to which we have already referred, and to the south as far as the sixtieth (60°) parallel. To the east, this almost limitless deposit is encountered by the lofty heights of the Aldan and Stan- ovoi Mountains with their various branches. A belt, however, bending southwards forms a circuit around the Sea of Okhotsk, constituting the littoral lying between its waters and the Schistous elevations of the Yablonoi. From the eastern base of the latter range an arm of this prolongation penetrates as far south as the junction of the Shilka with the Amur, under the fiftieth (50°) parallel, through the Tertiary deposits found in the valley of the last-named river. I shall conclude this rapid, and consequently very imper- fect, sketch of the Geology of Siberia with some mention of the Igneous and Volcanic rocks, which cover a con- THE GEOLOGY OF SIBERIA. 51 siderablc proportion of tlie surface of the country. Being connected with the phenomenon of the burning moun- tains (seldom resting from their activity) of the penin- sula of Kamtchatka in the extreme east, with the con- tinually-recurring earthquakes and sul)marine disturbances of the Baikal region in the south, and as forming the spinal cord, as it were, of the Uralian upheaval through- out its whole course from north to south, they present features of extraordinary interest. In character they belong almost exclusively to the Traps and volcanic out- breaks of the Tertiary epoch, and are found, generally speaking, in immediate association with the great granitic ranges. Thus, on both sides of the central band of the Ural chain, to which reference has just been made, flanking masses of granites and schists extend from its origin to the north, lying beneath the Arctic Circle, to its termination towards the south, near the forty-sixth parallel (46° N.). Eastwards from this latter point, on the left bank of the higher course of the Ishim, Igneous rocks again present themselves among the primary stratifications of the steppe which derives its name from that stream. Onwards further, in a north- easterly direction, the same formation is met with in the neighbourhood of Lake Zaizan, the principal source of the Irtish, lat. 48° N., long. 83° K, and repeats itself on the northern slopes of the Altai, under the same D 2 52 FROZEN ASIA. meridian, towards the district of Kuznetsk, so famous among the native tribes for its iron and the good knives and spear -heads made therefrom. A yet larger development is found in the Sayansk ranges, lat. 53° N., long. 95° E., and five degrees north of this considerable detached masses are observed in the upper valleys of the Chului and Yenisei. Sporadic bodies, of small extent however, offer themselves to view, under the same meridian, about 60° and 64° N., in the great Tertiary plain and in the Alluvial valley of tlie Lower Tunguska, near its embouchure. Occasional masses of basaltic rocks arise in the lonely solitudes of the wild steppes, assuming, some weird, others fantastic forms, which are usually attributed by the ignorant natives to the handi- work of malignant and evil spirits ; while in the narrow glens of the spurs of the Altai are found columnar groups which rival in their strange beauty the world- famed pillars of the Giant's Causeway and the airy shafts of the cave of Staffa. But it is on the western shores of the Lake of Baikal, the Holy Sea of the hardy Cossack and Russian peasant, that this formation is exhibited on a truly magnificent scale, It is here that the volcanic power from time to time gives evidence ^ an energy which only slumbers to awake with renewed and destructive forces. Submarine convulsions are of annual occurrence, causing the death of countless myriads of the finny inhabitants of the bottomless THE GEOLOGY OF SIBERIA. 53 depths ; it is on these occasions that specimens of the mysterious golomain, to which I more fully refer in another place, are cast upon the shores. Shocks of eartliquakes are not uncommon, and their severity is hardly exceeded by those which work such destruction on the western coasts of South America. Within the memory of the present generation large tracts upon the borders of the lake have suffered considerable elevation and depres- sion, and in several instances villages of some size have been submerged. The effects of these subterranean movements often extend to the valley of the Selenga, and as far south as the Chinese frontier at Kiachta. Another field of a like character lying between the primary formations of the Aldan and the alluvial of the littoral, occupies the north-western angle of the Sea of Okhotsk, and is continued round the head of that water till it merges in the noble central chain of Kamtchatka, where the grandeur of volcanic action is exhibited in its highest intensity. The most conspicuous of the elevations of this group are elsewhere described, and 1 shall only add that they are considered to belong to the same great system which, taking its rise in the Philippine Archi- pelago, traverses the islands of Japan, and then trends northwards in one direction towards the mainland of Siberia, in the other througli the line of the Kurile Islands towards the coast of Alaska. CHAPTER IV. MINERALOGY. )HE mineral treasures for which Siberia is celebrated, are produced from three ^ principal districts, of which the western "^ comprehends the mines on the eastern declivity of the Ural Range, and has for its centre Ekaterinburg, a town containing some 20,000 inhabitants. The mineral district lies be- tween 56 and 60 N. lat., with a general breadth of forty miles, and produces large quantities of gold, silver, copper, iron, platinum, and many precious stones, amongst which I may instance the emerald, amethyst, topaz, and ber}^l, together with other substances such as chalcedony, jasper, malachite,